Kingdom Hearts: Dawn Inbetween
by thDorkMagnet
Summary: Sora, Riku, and Kairi have finally returned home and are missing their friends. But, a dark force once again threatens the Realm of Light and the three are once again lost in an escapade that will have them face a reality that not even they are prepared for.
1. Island Life

A/N: This is thMagnet with my very first fanfiction. Hope you enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!

Chapter 1: Island Life

It was a beautiful day on the island. The air was warm, the sun was shining, and the gentle island breeze made the leaves of the Paopu tree shake soothingly. And it was for this reason Sora felt at peace. He was sitting on a Paopu tree watching the sunset. He always went to watch the sunset. His eyes were closed allowing the warm, island breeze to wash over him, filling him with good thoughts. Thoughts about the places he had been, the things he had seen, and the friends he had made, especially his friends. He found himself thinking about them often, more so in the last few weeks. He couldn't seem to get his mind off of them.

So now as the sun slowly sunk lower into the sky, his mind drifted to the two he thought of the most, Donald and Goofy. They had all formed a close connection during their adventures and had risked their lives to help and protect each other, no matter what. But in the end, Donald and Goofy, as well as King Mickey and Pluto, had returned home to Disney Castle, leaving Sora behind. This shouldn't bother him, he knew that. After all, he was home on his beloved islands with his two closest friends, Riku and Kairi. Still, to Sora it felt like a piece of him had left with them. Sora sighed and leaned back against the tree, deep in thought. So deep, in fact, he didn't see the person approaching.

"Hey Sora!" A voice sounded. Sora, startled, screamed and fell off the tree and landed roughly on the sandy ground. He was moaning in pain when he heard the familiar sound of laughter. And that laugh, Sora knew, could belong to none other than...

"Riku!" Sora exclaimed, smiling. Riku, Sora's best and closest friend, grabbed Sora's outstretched hand, pulling him to his feet.

"Serves you right letting your guard down like that," Riku said.

"Give me a break, you're worse than Kairi," Sora replied. The two laughed for a while, glad to be sharing each others company. Sora had known Riku for as long as he could remember. They shared a close connection and an unbreakable friendship. And it was for this reason that Sora could see, though Riku hid it well, the sadness creeping into his friend's voice and eyes. Sora had first noticed it nearly a month ago, but it had been getting worse in the last couple of weeks. Sora knew what the cause of Riku's sadness was. What he didn't know was how to make his friend feel better.

…

Kairi was getting better. She knew she was. It had taken a _lot_ of work but she finally felt like she was making some progress. Her magic was shaky, _very_ shaky, but after all the time and practice she had put in she knew she could hold her own in a fight. This was thanks to Sora and Riku having spent much of their time since returning to Destiny Islands to instruct her. They were both great teachers and wonderful friends, Kairi felt lucky to have them looking out for her.

Today, though, she had decided to take a much needed break and go to the cove. The cove was not visited often, seeing as how it was somewhat hidden on the other side of the island. But this was a place of memories for her, because this had been the spot where her and her two friends had constructed the pinnacle of their young lives, a raft.

It was loosely constructed of logs tied together with rope and a piece of canvas they had found for the sail. It was filled with food rations consisting of coconuts, fish, mushrooms, fresh water, and a large seagull egg Sora had managed to track down. It had been constructed for one reason only, to leave these islands and explore the outside worlds. Riku had done the majority of the work while Kairi and Sora had slacked off a bit. It occurred to Kairi that this might be because out of the three of them, Riku wanted it the most. Kairi had finally wrapped her mind around the idea and had been ready to leave with her friends the day after they had it finished, but then the storm had struck…

Kairi found the raft right where they had left it, and then she found herself lost in memories. Memories of Sora, Riku, their long journey, her return home to the islands and separation from them, of her leaving the island and the friends she had made while there, of the Organization snatching her up, and finally, of her friends rescuing her, their triumph over her captors, and their return home to their islands once again. Then suddenly she saw a girl in a white dress, a girl she knew almost too well. The girl was sitting in a room that was all white, drawing. She seemed, at least to Kairi, to be… sad. Kairi felt tears in her eyes and as the memory faded Kairi said the one word that was needed, "Namine."

…

Sora and Riku sat together on the Paopu tree, talking and laughing. They shared with each other stories of their adventures on and off their island home. Riku told of his experiences as Maleficent's pawn, or at least what he could remember of it. As well as his adventures with his friend Mickey. Sora then told Riku of the different worlds he had visited and all he had seen. Finally, Sora and Riku talked about their final battle with Xemnas and the rest of the Organization XIII and their triumphant return home to the islands.

"Who would have thought Kairi's note would have reached us all the way into the dark realms," Sora said.

"I guess she just wanted it to," Riku said.

"Yeah."

No more was said. No more needed to be said. They both knew that Kairi was special. Sora felt the awkward pause that had formed between them and realized that his mind had drifted. Drifted to the the two who had been there waiting for Sora along with Kairi. Sora wished so badly to see them again. And then the guilt hit Sora as he remembered how long Riku and Kairi had worked getting home. How much they had risked to be together again.

"So," Sora said, feeling a need to push those thoughts away. "How is Kairi's training coming along."

"Well, she can't freeze anything bigger than a mushroom, she can barely produce a measly puff of smoke, and don't get me started on her thunder."

"Is it that bad?"

"No, it's that good. She almost barbequed me the other day." Sora laughed.

"She's almost as bad as you." Sora stopped laughing and glared at Riku.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Riku just smiled. "Nothing, it's just…"

"It's just what?"

"We both know you're not exactly gifted in magic." Sora was starting to get mad now.

"Hey!" Riku laughed as Sora crossed his arms defensively. "And stop laughing it's not funny."

Riku continued to laugh anyway. "When you make that face it is."

Sora smiled and the two burst into laughter, glad to be sharing each others company. All other thoughts were erased in this pleasant moment. Suddenly, Sora felt light-headed. Everything around him was spinning, and he felt himself falling. He felt an arm grab him and Riku's startled voice, but Sora couldn't respond. As Riku's voice echoed through his head he saw someone else. It was a boy in a black cloak. He was sitting eating ice cream and Sora could tell he wanted to tell him something, something important, something…

"Sora!" Sora's eyes blinked open and as his head began to clear he became aware of his surroundings again. He was lying on the sandy ground and he could see the Paopu tree above him. He figured he must have fallen and Riku had caught him. He saw Riku appear in his line of vision and felt a pang of guilt when he saw the look on Riku's face.

"You okay?" Riku asked as he helped Sora slowly to his feet.

"Yeah, just a dizzy spell is all," Sora said not looking Riku in the eyes when he said it. Riku didn't look the least bit convinced but didn't question his friend either. Sora quickly added, "I'm fine, really," though he still felt a bit light-headed.

"Well if you're sure," Riku replied quietly.

Sora could tell Riku was on the verge of saying something, but the conversation ended just then when they heard Kairi call to them, much to Sora's relief. When she reached them she explained about her trip to the cove, but not wanting her friends to worry, chose to leave the part about Namine out.

The three friends spent the rest of the day together watching the sunset and talking. Then, as the bright stars filled the night sky, the three each entered the canoes they had come to the island on. Kairi left first and her friends stood on the dock waving and shouting their good-byes. Then Sora began climbing into his canoe saying a quick good-bye to Riku, but was stopped when Riku put a hand on his shoulder. Sora turned to look at him

"You sure you're okay?" Riku asked and Sora saw the worry in his friend's eyes.

"I'm fine," Sora said while brushing his friend's hand off his shoulder. "Just tired." Sora climbed into the boat feeling guilty for lying to Riku's face. He could feel Riku's eyes on him as he pushed off from the dock. He told himself it was for Riku's own good but he was having trouble believing himself.

From the dock, Riku watched Sora row away telling himself to believe his friend, that nothing was wrong. But he couldn't shake the feeling. Finally, Riku climbed into his own boat and began rowing away, unaware of the black cloaked figure watching from the shadows.

A/N: I'll try to be updating every week with a new chapter. Thanks to everyone who helped with making this. May God bless you and give you a good week. See you soon!


	2. Almost Ready

A/N: This is thMagnet again with my second chapter, I hope you all love it!

Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts, just love playing it and writing about it. (Meant to put that in the last chapter as well. Sorry!)

Chapter 2: Almost Ready

The island rang with the sounds of crashing metal, coming from the small inlet where the precious Paopu tree resided. Kairi stumbled having been knocked back by a hard swing from Riku's Keyblade, Way to the Dawn.

He assumed his fighting stance saying, "Not bad, considering the short amount of time you've had, but I know you can do better." She resumed her own fighting stance and held her Keyblade, Destiny's Embrace, to her side. She smiled, knowing Riku's meaning for always pushing her to her limits, trying to improve her, to make her better. With good reason! Twice now she had been caught by Sora and Riku's enemies and had to be rescued. They were both going out of their way to see to it she could protect herself, in case they weren't there to protect her. She felt lucky more than anything to have them looking out for her.

Her thoughts were broken as Riku charged her and she instinctively raised her Keyblade up clashing with Riku's. Riku and Kairi both jumped back and then each took their stance. This time Kairi swung first aiming for Riku's unguarded side, but Riku quickly jumped to the side swinging the Keyblade down in the process. Kairi's Keyblade was pinned to the ground and Kairi was forced to let go. The Keyblade dispersed into nothingness and Riku swung toward Kairi. Kairi ducked and did a dodge roll out of the way. She jumped to her feet and held her hand out. Destiny's Embrace appeared into her hand and she swung around toward Riku. Riku having no time to counter was forced to cartwheel out of the way. Riku smiled, taken aback by Kairi's speed and agility.

"Nice move, but now let's see some magic," he said. Kairi nodded and held the Keyblade out in front of her. She focused all her energy into her Keyblade allowing it to create the treasured energy needed. Ice began forming on the tip of her Keyblade growing bigger and stronger by the minute. Then suddenly it shot forward, hitting Riku, but the momentum from the blast knocked Kairi back. She stumbled, but managed to keep her footing.

She smiled and looked up at her teacher. She gasped at the sight she saw. Riku was not frozen solid as she had anticipated. In fact, the only sign of her performing magic at all was a small patch of ice not even fully covering Riku's right shoulder. Riku looked at the bit of ice and flicked it off his shoulder, undamaged or even cold.

Suddenly, laughter erupted from behind the two and they turned to see Sora laughing his head off. He stood on the bridge connecting the island to the inlet and Kairi figured he had been standing there for a while. Kairi put her hands on her hips.

"And what's so funny?"

Sora tried to stop laughing, seeing Kairi's glare, but found himself unable to stop. Riku smiled as Kairi huffily turned her back on Sora. Sora put an arm on her shoulder saying between gasps of laughter, "I'm sorry, it was just so funny."

Kairi crossed her arms and Sora sat down on the Paopu tree trying to compose himself. "No offense," he said. "But you need to work on your magic if you're ever going to beat me _or_ Riku."

Riku smiled and said to Kairi, "well if he feels that way, then why don't you show Sora your secret weapon."

"Her what now?" Sora asked.

Riku gave Kairi a wink and she returned it with a wink of her own and a smile. She held her Keyblade up and took a deep breath, letting the magic gather. Then she yelled as loud as she could, "Thunder!"

Instantly, a bolt of lightning came down and struck the Paopu tree knocking an unsuspecting Sora off of it. Sora fell and landed in the salty sea water with a large splash. Sora came up out of the water a few seconds later coughing and sputtering. He could hear Riku and Kairi laughing from above. He looked up at them and gave them a look of anger. This only caused his friends to laugh harder and Sora finally smiled at them.

Moments later Sora was sitting on the shore, waiting to dry, with his friends. The three just sat in silence for a while listening to the sound of the waves and thinking. Finally, Kairi broke the silence saying what the three had been thinking, "I miss our friends."

Sora and Riku turned and stared at her in complete shock that she would actually say that out loud. It just didn't seem right after everything that had happened. Then Sora sighed and said, "yeah, Donald, Goofy, and the King. We visited so many worlds, made so many friends, and … now I can't see them."

Sora looked down at his feet, a look of sadness on his face. His friends just stared, taken aback by their normally cheerful friend's sudden change in mood, their own longings drifting in the silence of the moment.

"Even after I promised I would."

…

The figure in the black cloak walked forward into the surrounding darkness, listening for the sound of footsteps following him. It was unneeded to do this, he knew the place was well hidden, but you can never be too careful. They had been very careful in picking a place for this meeting and he had been assured time and time again that this place was safe. His meeting would not be disturbed.

He found himself in a cave covered with drawings. Some were well detailed, most looked almost too rough to decipher. It was obvious by their rough detail of the pictures they had been drawn by kids. They seemed to cover every wall, rock, and corner of the cave. He found it funny how being in this dark cave gave him a feeling of comfort.

The figure spotted a door in the cave as well. It was large and had a look of uncertainty about it, almost menacing even. Near this door was a second figure, also wearing the dark cloak and hood. He was gazing at one of the pictures in the cave and as the first figure approached, he saw it was of a boy and a girl, their arms extending Paopu fruit to each other.

The second figure's hood shriveled as it turned to look at the first.

"Did you see him?" he asked.

"If you mean Sora then yeah," the other replied.

The figure paused a moment before replying. "How is he?"

"His condition is stable, for now, but the memory flow process has already begun."

"Then we must hurry."

"Yes, we must."

The two figures stood silent, their hoods aimed at each other.

"What if he isn't ready?" the first asked.

"He will be."

"And you're sure this can't wait?"

"No, the plan must proceed before the other gets too weak." The two stared at each other for a few seconds longer, and then the first turned to leave.

"Roxas!"

The hooded figure stopped mid-step. He turned slowly back to his accomplice.

"He is ready, I'm sure of it," he said. The two locked gaze.

"And if you're wrong?"

They both stared at each other for what seemed to be eternity. Finally, the second turned away. The hooded boy named Roxas continued walking. Soon, only one dark, hooded figure remained in the hidden cave. He slowly looked back at the cave drawing of the two kids. His gaze lingered on the smiling boy with spiky hair and he whispered to himself.

"Well, we'll just have to hope I'm not."

A/N: Thanks again to all you fans of Kingdom Hearts for loving these games as much as me. Thanks also to Freelance Bookworm Editing for the amazing job of finding the mistakes I didn't see. Thanks to all the fans who rate and review, makes it so much more worthwhile to write. May God bless you and I'll see you in a week. Later.


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